Week 15 rewind

I usually look at the "good" of each week's game first and then the "bad." With the Pats' wild and disappointing loss the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night it has to be the other way around because there was just way too much bad before there was any good.

31-3 (BAD)

• Where to begin? How about the worst half of football a Tom Brady-led offense has had since that playoff game against the Ravens in '09. Punt. Punt. Interception. Punt. Fumble. Field goal. Punt. Fumble. Interception. You are going to fall behind any team in the league playing like that. Against a team like the Niners, you are going to fall behind 31-3. Play like that in the playoffs and you are out.
• So who was to blame? Let's start with Stevan Ridley. He's a more talented runner than BenJarvus, but if you can't hold on to the ball it doesn't matter how great a runner you are. Ever heard of Chuck Muncie? When I was younger and the Chargers were a great team that me and my brothers rooted against, we always knew they would lose because of "the Muncie Factor." You just knew he would fumble at the worst possible time. Kind of like Brett Favre and his game-killing picks. You just knew one was coming. We better not be talking about "the Ridley Factor" when the playoffs are done.
• Speaking of turnovers... Brady had another one of those where he just flings the ball deep down the field hoping his receiver can jump and get it but either way overthrows or underthrows it so the defensive back has an easy pick. I know. Criticizing Brady for interceptions is ridiculous since he takes care of the ball as well as any QB I've seen. But those plays -- like the one to Gronk in the AFC title game last year -- have to stop.
• The defense continues to lead the universe in big plays allowed. That too will have to stop before playoff time rolls around. Randy Moss (Randy Moss!) caught a 24-yard touchdown. San Fran QB Colin Kaepernick hit Delanie Walker for a 34 yard TD. Kaepernick and Michael Crabtree connected on 27-yard touchdown and they connected again on the game-winning 38-yarder. I keep hearing the Pats secondary is improving. I have my doubts. It may have been injuries to Talib and Dennard. I have my doubts.
• Another thing that will have to improve for the playoffs... kick coverage. The Pats special teams got caught napping in the first quarter on a 4th-and-10 when the Niners faked the punt and were able to get an easy first down. But a much bigger sin came late in the game, after the Pats had rallied to tie the score. Gosty kicked to the goal line (also not good) and La Michael James took the ball up the left sideline. He shouldn't have made it past the 20. But he did. Way past the 20 all the way to the Pats 38-yard line. Sloppy technique and tackling turned the momentum right back in San Fran's favor for good. It's the kind of play that could get a special teams coach fired.

31-31 (GOOD)

• OK. Enough of that. There aren't a lot of other teams (or any) that can come back on the San Fran defense from 28 points down. Not only did Brady and the offense come back, they came back in a flash. A 73-yard drive for a touchdown in four minutes. 86 yards in just under four minutes. 70 yards in a minute. And a ridiculous 91-yard drive in three minutes to tie the game. And all without Gronk. The Patriots offense made a statement in the second half that caught the Niners' attention.
• The defense that has given up way too many big plays has made even more of them. Which more often than not adds up to victories. Devin McCourty had another big pick to stop a scoring drive cold.  The D kept the Pats in the game in the first half while the offense sputtered and then it shut the Niners down while the offense staged its comeback. 
• Danny Woodhead. He has taken the role of the underrated role player. The new Kevin Faulk. Woody is almost unstoppable on the pass out of the backfield and the draw play. He's as tough as they come and rock solid with the rock. In short, he's one of my favorite players. Oh, and Rex Ryan cut him. Ha.
• Brandon Lloyd. Has this guy lived up to expectations or what? Lloyd, against one of the toughest defenses in the league, caught 10 passes for 190 yards. He didn't have a touchdown again but that's OK. There are lots of guys scoring touchdowns. But he's the only one making huge toe-tapping sideline catches for first downs. Brady has to love this guy. I know I do.
• The linebacker group of Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, and rookie D'onta Hightower are becoming a force. The key has been (knock on Woodhead) that Mayo and Spikes are still relatively healthy. Mayo had 12 tackles against the tough Niner run game. Hightower had eight. Spikes had six and they were all bruising. Combined with Big Vince, Kyle Love, Ninko, and Chandler Jones up front gives the Pats one of the best front seven in the game.
• Composure. Down 31-3 to the Niners, a lot of teams would have folded or crumbled. Not a Bill Belichick team. They never give up when they are down and never let up when they are ahead. That's what makes them contenders every year. Although the 2012 Patriots are one of the youngest in the league, they are battle tested.

And there will be some big battles ahead. Battles that they will win if they don't turn the ball over four times. That's always the key.